


You Mocha Me Crazy

by Nixie_DeAngel



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Aline Penhallow - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Maia/Bat, Coffee Shop Owner Jace, College Student Simon, Jace was offically adopted by the Lightwoods, M/M, Mention of Bat Velasquez, Mentions of Alec Lightwood - Freeform, Mentions of Magnus Bane - Freeform, background clizzy, mentions of malec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-15 14:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13033197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nixie_DeAngel/pseuds/Nixie_DeAngel
Summary: “Does that make you my Prince Charming then?”Chuckling slightly, Jace turned to look over his shoulder at the guy before giving him an unashamed once over. “Only in your dreams,” he let his voice drop into a flirty tone as he spoke. He tossed the still unnamed man a wink before getting back to work.





	You Mocha Me Crazy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inasiriusrelationship](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inasiriusrelationship/gifts).



> Prompt was: I really like coffee shop AUs as cheesy as they are. 
> 
> I hope you find this cheesy enough!

~~~~(~~~~  
~~~~(~~~~

 

 

Jace doesn’t expect much of anything interesting to happen during the morning shift.

Firstly because nothing good EVER happens during those shifts.

It was mostly just getting the baked goods in the oven before filling the display cases, and if there was any time before whoever was on shift arriving, getting some of the morning prep work done ahead of time.

 

(Though Jace rarely ever had that time before Aline or Bat showed up.)

 

Secondly, it was having to deal with the irritable rush of suits heading into the office, doctors coming off shift and the occasional cop coming in for a quick pick-me-up to get through the end of their shift, or to wake themselves up enough to head on home.

Or it was the sleep deprived college students and professors, trudging in with half dead eyes and an aura of despair. But that was of course only if the weather allowed his customers to even come to his café in the first place.

 

(To be honest, even if the weather was really bad, it didn’t stop the students from trudging through it to get their caffeine fix.)

 

So really, it’s not like Jace is expecting to have some earth shattering, time stopping moment to happen. After all, those things only happened in books or on TV screens, Jace thought as he watched the actual embodiment of a human puppy come crashing into his café doors, just a few moments after the first rush died out.

Besides, if anyone in his shop were going to have moments like that, it’d be Izzy and Clary, usually whenever Clary was on shift and Izzy came by to flirt with her girlfriend when she came by to grab a caffeine boost before heading off to do her labs for one of her million or so classes she seemed to be taking.

 

(Only somehow, when Jace thinks on it later on, it’s exactly how he’d have described it if anyone could ever got him drunk enough to actually talk about it.)

 

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Jace once again focused on what was happening before him.

Jace watches as the guy seemed to struggle trying to figure out how to open the front doors. He couldn’t  but let the side his mouth curl up into a smirk as he watches the young man bounce off the doors twice more before he seems to realize he needs to pull, instead of push them open.

Biting at the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing, Jace instead clears his throat as he watches the other lift his right hand up to push his glasses up, while he uses his left to rub at the bridge of his nose as he shuffles towards the counter.

Flicking his eyes over the other, Jace determines it’s probably a college student who’s either just coming from an all-night study session or just waking up from a hangover. Tossing the towel he’d been using to wipe down the counter over his shoulder, Jace glides over towards the register and waits for his customer to notice him.

Slumping over the counter, face pressed into the cool surface, the young man beings to mumble something.

Frowning as he crosses his arms over his chest, Jace gives the guy a moment, either to hopefully peel himself off the counter or to speak up enough Jace will actually be able to understand his order.

Though before Jace could speak up to say something, he watched as the guy turned his face more towards the side, so he was balefully staring up at him as he groaned out, “Caffeine, I need lots of the life blood.”

Holding back a snort, Jace uncrossed his arms and grabbed his largest to go cup as he spoke, “Anything in particular, or just anything that’ll give you a jolt?”

“Need _strong_ ,” was the muttered reply before the man moved back to pressing his face into the counter.

Rolling his eyes, Jace made a mental note to once again wipe that down after the guy left. “Alright then, one Tall Americano, with a double shot of espresso coming right up.” He pauses to grab a sharpie and quickly scribble something on the cup before proceeding to make the poor guy his coffee boost.

It thankfully doesn’t take long, not that the guy would have noticed, because Jace is pretty sure he heard him snore softly just a few seconds ago, but soon enough Jace is placing a lid on it and placing the cup on the counter. He debates for a few seconds on how best to wake the guy, when he suddenly shoots up, brown eyes wide as they flicker around before landing on Jace himself.

The brunette frowned as he squinted over the rim of his glasses before flicking his gaze down to the cup for a long moment. “Huh,” he murmured before slowly reaching out and picking the cup up. Bringing it up to his lips, he paused to only open the tab so he could drink out of before carefully taking a tiny sip.

Humming, the man let his eyes flutter close before he took a longer, but equaling careful, sip of his drink. Letting out a satisfied sigh, he blinked his eyes open and grinned sleepily over at Jace.

“Good?” At the solid nod, Jace smirked before rattling off what the guy owed him for the drink. His smirk widening slightly as the guy let out an actually whimper when he had to set his coffee down to use both hands to try and find his wallet.

It took a moment, but the other seemed to finally find his wallet. Pulling out the correct amount and handing it over, he slipped his wallet back into his pocket. Lifting his cup back up, the man paused and peered closer as he finally noticed the black scribble across the side of his coffee. “Sleeping Beauty?”

Jace simply tossed the guy a wide smirk as he turned and got back to cleaning up whatever mess Bat and Aline hadn’t been able to help out with before they’d had to rush off to their morning classes.

“Does that make you my Prince Charming then?”

Chuckling slightly, Jace turned to look over his shoulder at the guy before giving him an unashamed once over. “Only in your dreams,” he let his voice drop into a flirty tone as he spoke. He tossed the still unnamed man a wink before getting back to work.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Jace honestly thought it’d be the last time he’d see Sleeping Beauty, until he turned up five days later, looking _much_ more alive then he had before.

His lips quirked up into a playful looking smirk, Jace tossed the apron he’d just been pulling off over his shoulders as he watched the guy nearly bounce up towards the counter.

“If it isn’t the walking dead,” Jace drawled out teasingly, his mismatched eyes lighting up a little. He couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the man duck his head, cheeks flushing slightly.

“Come to get another dose of life’s blood then?” Jace asked as he moved up to punch in the order.

 

(Jace refused to find it utterly adorable with the brunette’s nose wrinkled as he pulled a gagging face.)

 

“God no,” he nearly yelled, “Definitely not. I’d like to actually sleep sometime tonight. That thing you gave me, um,” he flushed slightly as he seemed to realize his loud volume, as he glanced around before turning back to look at Jace. “It kept me up for nearly an entire day.”

Jace couldn’t help it as his smirk sharpened but he bit back the innuendo he so desperately wanted to toss out, Instead he let out a quiet snort before speaking, “Alright then, what’ll you be having today?”

The other squinted as he reached up to adjust his glasses as he peered over the chalkboard menu for a long moment before finally answering with, “The hot chocolate with chocolate drizzle.”

Nodding once, Jace punched in the order before rattling off the price. While he waited for the guy to fish out his wallet, he got to work on the order.

“Do you run this all by yourself? Because I literally never see anyone else in here with you,” the guy questioned as pulled out his wallet, dropped the correct change onto the counter, he even pulled out a few extra dollars and slipped it into the tip jar while the blond was turned around. “’Cause I’m pretty sure no one person can run a store this size all by themselves, unless you really _are_ Captain America. In that case, I’d believe you capable but since I’m pretty sure you _aren’t_ actually a comic book hero, you actually _do_ have help right?”

Chuckling, Jace turned back to shoot the other a bemused look, “I work with college students, so I tend to schedule their hours around classes and our usual rush hours.” As he turned back to finish up the drink, Jace he went on to explain how Aline and Bat worked the morning shift, which thankfully also covered his morning rush, before they went off to their morning classes.

Jace finished up explaining as he placed the cup carefully onto the counter. “From now until just about half past 11, it’s pretty dead but depending on which day it is, one of their classes usually lets up just before the afternoon rush, so they come back to work a few more hours. Plus my sister’s girlfriend works here a few hours every other day to help balance it out when my actual employees can’t make it. But this place doesn’t really need that many people during the week. The weekends on the other hand, it’s at least three hands on deck at all times.”

“Huh,” the other man nodded as he carefully lifted his cup up to take a slow sip.

“I get decent business, thanks to being near the campus. Plus I usually get some steady customers from the hospital and police station as well. But nothing overwhelming unless there’s been some sort of major accident or it’s near a holiday.”

“So you own this place then?”

“When my grandmother passed away, she left me a small but sizeable inheritance.” Jace paused to shrug, a little self-conscious that he was sharing this with a virtual stranger, but there was just _something_ about the other man that seemed to put Jace at ease. “Enough really to buy this place and fix it up,” Jace turned to flick his gaze over the small shop. It was warm and homey, everything to help put a person at ease and relax them. It’d taken some time to build up but his café had been going strong for almost four years now.

Jace isn’t sure how long the other man stays and chats with him, getting to know bits and pieces of one another. Like how the other man is double majoring in accounting for his mother and music theory for himself. Or how he’s the lead singer of a semi-popular indie band called Rock Solid Panda, and how it’s a pun because the man is pansexual.

 

(Jace can’t help but come out as bisexual when he notes the nervous twitch of the man’s body, the way he seems to shift away from Jace, as if preparing to put as much distance between them in as short a time as possible.)

 

Despite talking for nearly an hour, before customers came in, forcing the brunette into realizing the time and heading out so he wouldn’t be late to his class, Jace never did learn the other man’s name.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

It takes three weeks of sporadic visits to Java Jace, and then an accidentally run in on campus while Jace is taking Izzy out for their weekly sibling lunch outing before Jace actually learns Sleeping Beauty’s real name.

 

( _“Simon,” Izzy called out happily as she completely cut Jace off from what he’d been saying._

_Jace pauses and looks around in an attempt to spot whoever Izzy was calling for as he doesn’t recognize the name and was about to ask her who she was talking about before freezing slightly at seeing His Sleeping Beauty grinning brightly and waving his hand wildly as he marched over to them, already talking a mile a minute._

_Jace bites the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. While Sleeping Beauty, or apparently_ Simon _, had been hungover from having spent the night drinking while nursing a broken heart, Jace had learned from the other’s second visit that he liked to_ talk _._

_A lot._

_And while it might have been grating the first few times Jace had been subjected to it, it’d somehow morphed into endearing and adorable and Jace still wasn’t sure how he felt about that, he thinks as he waits for Izzy and Simon to realize he’s still standing there, the pair having gotten caught up in whatever it was they were talking about._

_“Oh,” Izzy let out a little laugh as Simon let out a yelp, drawing his hand back to his chest like he’d been burned. He flushed darkly as he mumbled out an apology for accidentally smacking Jace in the chest when he’d begun to gesture wildly while they’d debated their English Lit project._

_His jaw dropped as he actually turned to look at Jace, seemly shocked at who was actually standing next to him and Izzy._

_Izzy let her lips curl up into a smirk, as she took stalk of the way Simon’s cheeks darkened further as he took in her brother, the way Simon’s eyes quickly darted open and down. Making a mental note to mention that to Clary later, “Simon, this is my brother Jace.”_

_Turning so she could watch Jace, noting the relaxed posture and playful smile twisting at the blonde’s lips, Izzy couldn’t help but be slightly amazed considering Jace normally clammed up until he was surrounded by people he was completely comfortable with or in his café._

_“Jace, this is Simon Lewis, Clary’s best friend.”_

_Simon had launched into a long winded ramble explaining how they knew each other, with only a few interjections from Jace that were clearly meant to tease the other man, but eventually Izzy got the gist of the story._

_Smirking knowingly, Izzy insisted Simon join her and Jace, needing further data before she planned on sharing her theory with Clary and Maia, knowing she’d need both the others to help her out._ )

 

Jace feels his lips dipped down into a frown as he watches Simon drop heavily onto the counter, much like the first time they’d ever met, and let out a long, drawn-out whine.

“Team Clizzy, while wholly awesome and adorable,” Simon muttered into the cool surface, “Are pure and completely _evil_ beings and must be stopped for the greater good.”

Jace felt his frown darken considerably at the mention of his sister and her girlfriend. The both of them were menaces on a good day when they put their minds to it, but lately they’d been treading into what Simon would call Sith territory. Turning he shoot the girls a scowl where they were seated across the café.

Since the unexpected lunch outing almost a month ago, Izzy and Clary had been acting stranger than normal whenever they were around him or Simon. And the last few days, Maia had been doing the same.

Their menacing behavior was doubly more troubling because they seemed to be bringing Maia into their schemes, if the smirk she was currently shooting him from where she sat with Clary and Izzy was any inclination. He scowled back at her until she flashed him a subtle flip of the finger before going back to studying for her bio final that was in three days.

 

( _Honestly_ , Jace thought, _if Magnus and Alec weren’t currently on an extended vacation - though it was certainly something they both deserved after last year’s giant mess - Jace would bet money that his future brother-in-law would be assisting the girls in actively trying to screw with him as well_.)

 

“Yeah?” Jace inquired as he straightened up from where he’d been leaning back. He went about making Simon’s current favorite drink, hot chocolate that was topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. “What’d they do now?”

“They say two months is an acceptable time frame to have moped after a mutual break up, and that it’s a good time to begin dating,” Simon answered as he pushed himself up from the counter. “I have finals I need to worry about, next week,” he whined as he attempted to give Jace his best puppy eyes as soon as Jace turned back to hand him his drink, “Can’t _you_ stop them?”  
Jace felt his chest tighten at the thought of Simon _dating someone_.

Someone that wasn’t going to be Jace.

After a moment, Jace cleared his throat because speaking, “Bargain for time.” He turned back around to pretend to clean up some. “Once Izzy gets something in her head she won’t let it go, but you can try to bargain for more time by helping her prep for the meet the parents dinner she has this Friday.” Pausing he brought his hand up to run it roughly through his hair, “Giving her some tips so she makes a good impression on Luke and Jocelyn should buy you until January at least.”

Simon let out a thoughtful hum as he carefully slid his drink back and further between his hands on the counter for a long moment. “Thanks, Jace, I’ll give that a try.” Though he lingered for another moment, Jace refused to turn back around.

Simon let out a soft sigh before he walked away.

Jace refused to admit that he sulked for the rest of the day.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

Three days after the awkward debacle of Simon telling Jace his sister was going to start setting him up on dates, Jace hadn’t seen or heard much from Simon. And while he hadn’t actively tried to find out _why_ , he had overheard Clary had mention to Maia, that Izzy and Simon were spending a lot of time holed up in the library, whispering back and forth.

So clearly the other man had taken his advice and gotten Izzy to back off until after finals and the holidays. That knowledge didn’t keep Jace’s mood from souring as finals finished up and holiday break came and went, without seeing Simon.

Though they had texted a few times.

But now it was mid-January, Clary and Izzy were tucked into a corner, attempting to make themselves invisible as much as humanly possible as they spied on Simon and his... _date_.

Scowling darkly, Jace refused to interact with his customers, fearing he’d bit someone’s head off, so he left Maia and Bat to run the counter while he cleaned and restocked for them. And occasionally sent dark glares at the back of the Simon’s date’s head, only half hoping it catch fire.

Why couldn’t Maia still be single? Why couldn’t Maia have waited and asked out Bat until after the holidays? Why couldn’t she have waited until Bat had finally worked up the nerve himself, instead of asking him out last week. Why couldn’t she wait that long and help Jace out; so that he could have foisted Izzy’s attention onto his best friend and away from trying to hook Simon up with someone? Some best friend Maia was being, for not taking one for the team.

Someone who _wasn’t_ Jace.

Jace couldn't help but curse _Team Clizzy_ , the bane of his existence.

Biting back a sigh, Jace tilts his head just enough to not make it look like he was staring at Simon, but still make it seem like he was focused on cleaning. He let his eyes wander over to the right a bit more so he could take in the nervous form that was Simon.

Taking another few seconds to look his fill, Jace moved his attention back to cleaning before anyone could catch him staring. Though he was pretty sure he wasn’t being as stealth as he wanted.

“This is creepy, you do realize that right?”

Refusing to jump at the sudden sound of his older brother’s voice, Jace slowly turned his head and shot the taller man a glare. While he was excited to have Alec back, Jace was decidedly less happy that it’d taken an hour after first meeting Simon for Alec to figure out Jace’s crush on him.

“Don’t you have a fiancé to bother or make out with?” Jace grumbled as he turned to toss the rag he’d been using into the basket they kept under the counter. He made a mental note to grab that before he went home for the night, as it was getting plenty full.

Alec shot him a look before sliding onto one of the newly acquired stools Izzy had brought in, so friends and family could chat with whoever was working during non-busy times. “Seriously, this is creepy. Why don’t you just say something instead of torturing yourself like this?”

Snorting, Jace shot Alec a look before rolling his eyes and putting his back towards Simon and his…. _date_.

Jace should probably stop doing that. Or should make sure he doesn't say it out loud at least, because then people would start questioning him on _why_ and Jace wasn’t ready to let the world know about his stupid, unrequited crush on Simon Lewis.

It wasn’t like much good would come out of it.

Simon didn’t feel the same.

But more importantly, Jace didn’t want to lose a friend.

Simon especially, who got Jace in a way that no one else ever had, who never pushed for more than Jace was willing to give. Who made Jace feel like he could take on anything and float away all at once.

So no, Jace wasn’t about to ruin what he and Simon had, on the slim chance the other _might_ return his feelings.

Besides, as Jace glanced back to see Simon grinning at something his date said, all that really mattered was Simon’s happiness, not Jace’s inconvenient feelings.

Alec let out a loud sigh before murmuring something too softly for Jace to hear.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

It only took two more dates at the café before Jace put his foot down and refused to let them use his place for Simon’s dates. He hadn’t even bother giving them a reason, just out right threatening Izzy with calling Maryse. His sister had scowled but relented and thankfully had moved the “blind dates” elsewhere.

Clary had pulled in a favor with her dad, the owner of the Hunter’s Moon, and they had started setting Simon’s “dates” up over there, but that also meant Jace now had to cancel his standing Friday night plans to bother Maia while she worked that shift.

 

(He was still thankfully dodging her on why he’d cancelled their standing Friday night plans.)

 

And it took another four dates after that before Simon was begging Jace to let him hide out in the back stockroom.

“You don’t get it,” Simon pleaded as he ducked around and hide behind the counter, just under where the cash register sat atop it. “They aren’t listening to me anymore. They just keep muttering about needing to up their plan and talking Magnus into helping. Izzy said they could use him to get Alec to help them.”

“Jace,” Simon let his voice drop to a serious tone, “I’m in real fear here buddy, so you _have_ to let me hide out here, okay? You _have_ to!”

“Honestly, Simon, it’s not like they’re out to kill you or something,” Jace responded with an eye roll. “Just try lying and telling them you’ve found someone on your own and want to date that person,” Jace shrugged, in no mood to discuss _this_ with Simon. “It could buy you a couple weeks.”

“I can’t! Our friend group is intermingled, and they know that! Plus, Clary knows I’m not dating anyone _and_ she knows who I’m in love with already!” Simon nearly yelled out in response before his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

Jace froze as he actually registered what exactly Simon had just spoken. Slowly, he turned back from replenishing the medium lids they’d been running low on. Blinking once, then twice before he opened his mouth trying to figure out what to say but before he could, Simon sprang out from his hiding place and nearly vaulted over the counter and out the door, yelling about being late for his date.

Jace didn’t know how long he stood there before Aline came in to start her shift and finally shook him out of his stupor.

“You okay, Jace?” She asked as she moved around him to go drop her bag and coat off in the break room. As she came back out, tying her apron around her waist, she paused and called his name again.

“Huh?” Jace turned to look over at her, face still twisted up in confusion and hurt. “What was that?”

“You don’t look so good, Jace.” Frowning, she stepped closer to peer at his face. “You look a little flushed there. Maybe you should go home and get some sleep. I’ll call in Bat and Lydia to help me with the poetry slam crowd, okay?”

Not knowing really what else to do, especially since he couldn’t stop hearing Simon repeat ‘who I’m in love with already’ in his head. Nodding absentmindedly, he gathered his things and left, mindless walking around the city for a while before deciding to just call it a night.

After a restless night of sleep, the next morning Jace found himself once again replaying the conversation with Simon. Falling back on his couch, he snatched his cell off of his coffee table and sent Aline a message, letting his manager know he wouldn’t be coming in today. Once he got confirmation that she understood, Jace switched his phone off and dropped it back onto the coffee table.

Dropping back into the couch, he tossed his legs up over the back and glared at the ceiling for a while, torturing himself with trying to figure out _who_ Simon could possibly be in love with.

It obviously wasn’t one of the girls they knew. Clary and Izzy were disgustingly happy and Maia and Bat were quickly on their way to being the same. Alec terrified Simon half the time and the other half they just geeked out like bros over Star Wars and Farscape.

Magnus had known Simon since he was a child, when Magnus had worked with Jocelyn and remained good friends. Despite still loving and being good friends with Raphael, they’d both simply wanted different things out of life and a relationship, plus Raphael was dating Meliorn now; and Jace knew for a fact Simon was happy for his ex-boyfriend, they’d talked about it just the other week.

Which only left Jace himself as a possibility, but he immediately dismissed that as a silly notion. It was his own traitorous mind playing with him. Simon could do so much better than him.

It must be someone from one of Simon’s classes then. Someone Jace didn’t know and couldn’t tell if they were even good enough for his Simon.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

After cleaning and mopping all day, Jace finally made himself shower and get dressed before heading out to Hunters Moon. He knew it was a risk on maybe seeing Simon on yet another date since it was Saturday, but damn it he wanted to drink and snark with the only person who gave better than he did.

Slipping in was easier than Jace thought it would be. Frowning as pushed his way over to the bar, he noted the larger crowd than usual. Shrugging inwardly as it took a moment, but he finally made it and was able to snag a newly vacated seat. Hunching in on himself, he attempted to give off a ‘leave me alone’ vibe, so that he could drink in peace.

Before he could get Maia’s attention, she slammed a beer down in front of him with a sneer. “I spit in it.”

“Stop teasing me,” Jace snarked back as he flashed her a smirk. “What would Bat say?”

Rolling her eyes as she reached under to grab and open a new box of napkins, “That I should get my head checked.”

“Love it when you flirt,” he quipped before unscrewing the cape and taking a long pull. “What’s with the crowd?” he asked after swallowing.

Maia’s lips twisted into a frown, “Did you not answer your phone at all today?” She asked as she quirked her eyebrow at him. She scuffed loudly as he shook his head, “Idiot.” With that, Maia turned away to start serving others, leaving Jace’s question unanswered.

Before he could pull his phone out and turn it back on, he felt a compact body trip into his side. Turning as he began to scowl he paused to see it was Clary and Izzy, already scowling with Magnus and Alec standing behind them, their faces drawn down in disappointment.

“What?” Jace asked, louder than he meant to after a long moment of no one saying anything.

Instead of answering verbally, Clary punch Jace hard in the shoulder before shoving him off his stool and slipping on it. She spread her legs so that Izzy could lean into her between them, “You’re an ass and you didn’t answer your phone at all today.”

“I needed a me day,” Jace pouted as he straightened himself up from where he’d caught himself against the bar instead of letting himself face plant into the floor. “Why, what’s going on?”

“It’s Simon,” Izzy cut in before Clary could yell at Jace some more, “He had a show tonight, last minute thing, and no one could get a hold of you to tell you so you could come support him.” She eyed her brother as his face went through a myriad of emotions before his face went carefully blank.

“When’s it start?” Jace nodded once before lifting his beer, thankful it’d been sitting on the counter and not knocked to the ground when Clary had decided to attack him.

“It ended about twenty minutes ago,” Magnus cut in, before turning to catch Maia’s attention. “We only came up to grab fresh drinks and let the girls yell at you.”

Jace frowned for a few seconds before pulling out a five and handed it to Alec, “Tell Maia it’s for the beer. Where’s Simon?”

“He’s putting the last of his things in his van, then he’s gonna head home,” Alec answered as he shot his brother a _look_ , that screamed Jace better move his ass.

Not bothering to spear the time to tell the group goodbye, Jace began shoving his way to towards the door that lead to the back alley. It took longer than Jace liked, but he finally made it to the alley, just in time to see Simon shut the side door.

“Simon,” Jace called out. He couldn’t help it as his lips twitched slightly as he watched Simon jump and whirl around, his brown eyes comically wide.

“Jace,” he called out, voice and face a little more subdue than normal.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Jace opened his mouth and blurted out, “I’m sorry about missing your show.” Lifting his hand up, he ran his fingers through his blond locks before tugging at them.

“I was feeling bummed so I turned my phone off for a mental health day,” Jace went on to explain as he made himself finish closing the distance between them, so they didn’t have to raise their voices to be heard. “Otherwise, I’d have come to watch you play.”

“Naw, it’s cool man,” Simon shrugged, lips quirked up but his smile didn’t light up his face like it normally did. “Everyone needs a day to themselves every now and again.”

“Still, it was a shitty thing to do,” Jace cut in as he brought his arms up to cross them over his chest. Swallowing, he glanced at Simon for a long moment before flicking his gaze to stare at the small patch of chipped paint just above the back wheel.

It took another moment to steal his nerves but eventually Jace began speaking again, “See, the guy I’m in love with likes someone else.” Pausing he flicked his mismatched eyes back to see simon’s face go slack with shock, “So I needed a day to try and come to terms with the fact I’ve lost out on a shot with him. That just happened to be today.” As he finished up he moved to lean against the side of the van.

“Oh,” Simon breathed out as he fell against his van, like the strings that had been keeping him up and suddenly been cut and he needed something to keep his body from crumbling down.

“Yeah,” Jace breathed out quietly as he peered down at his shoes. He let out another sigh before straightening up and taking a few steps away. “Look, I just want to say I’m not gonna let my feelings get in the way. I’m gonna support you and whoever it is you love, okay? I won’t make things weird at all, okay?”

“Uh….what?” Simon asked as his head whipped around to stare at Jace. “Your feelings? For me?”

“Yeah,” Jace breathed out with a self deprecating smile. “Promise, I won’t make it weird. But hey, I gotta go. I’m opening tomorrow so I need to get some sleep. I’ll see you whenever you come into the shop next.”

And with that Jace very much did _not_ run away to hide once again in his apartment.

 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

 

It took nearly two days before Simon came barreling into the coffee shop at his usually time. He quietly came up and asked if he could talk to Jace in private. Nodding numbly, Jace called out for Bat, whose class had been cancelled that day, before Jace lead to the small break room in back.

Swallowing as Simon closed the door, he glanced at the other before crossing his arms and turned his gaze to stare at a point of Simon’s shoulder. “Simon,” he breathed out softly.

Simon cleared his throat twice before he tried speaking, “I need you to listen, okay?” At Jace’s nod, Simon stepped up closer to the blond before taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders.

“You know Jace, you mocha me crazy most days,” Simon began as gently reached out and pulled Jace’s left hand from where he’d tucked it into his right elbow. He clasped both of his gently around it, “But words cannot espresso my love for you.”

Taking a quick breath, Simon tightened his grip on Jace’s hand when the blond went to open his mouth and speak. “I’ve pretty much been super gone on you since the second time I came here. You were sweet and funny and sarcastic. You make me feel like I could breathe and not break apart.” Shuffling a little closer to close the gap between them, Simon barreled on with his speech.

“The reason I didn’t want Clary and Izzy to set me up was because I’d wanted you to ask me.” Chuckling slightly, Simon let pulled is left hand back brought it up to rub at the side of his neck for a moment. “But you didn’t, so I wasn’t sure if you felt the same as I did. And when I blurted out that night about Clary knowing, I was so sure you caught on and the reason you missed my show was because of that.”

Swallowing again, Simon reached out to gently cup the side of Jace’s face, “Then you showed up and said what you said and then ran away and it took me a bit to finally compute what it meant.”

“Are you messing with me, Lewis?” Jace asked quietly, his voice hitched slightly as Simon rubbed his thumb back and forth along Jace’s cheek.

“I’ve never been more serious in my life,” Simon breathed out.

After another moment of searching Simon’s eyes, finding nothing but sincerity, Jace shook off Simon’s right hand and brought both of his up to grab Simon’s face and pull him closer, pressing their lips together tightly.

 

(Though later they’d actually go on a date after discussing what this actually meant and what they wanted from one another, for now, Simon and Jace were content to make out in the small break room.)


End file.
